Smoke causes aborted plane flight; local news briefs

A plane bound for Salt Lake City had to return to the Medford airport Monday morning after smoke was reported in the cabin, airport officials said.

A plane bound for Salt Lake City had to return to the Medford airport Monday morning after smoke was reported in the cabin, airport officials said.

Delta Flight No. 4674 had taken off from Medford at about 6:15 a.m. but returned to make an emergency landing after about 10 to 15 minutes in the air, officials said. The CRJ-200 aircraft landed safely, and the 75 passengers and four crew members were taken back to the terminal, where flights were scheduled to be rebooked, said airport Director Bern Case.

No one was hurt. A runway was closed but reopened about 30 minutes later and operations resumed as normal, Case said.

The cause for the smoke remained under investigation.

"That'll take them awhile," Case said. "That never goes fast."

A bathroom fire Monday morning in a mobile home park in north Ashland displaced two people and likely cost a pet cat one of its nine lives.

Ashland Fire & Rescue and Jackson County Fire District No. 5 responded shortly after 8:30 a.m. to find smoke coming from a trailer in the Bear Creek Mobile Home Park near the north Interstate 5 interchange. They sent four engines and a water tender, as there was no hydrant access at the park on Corral Lane.

"We were able to get here and knock it down pretty quickly," said District 5 Chief Dan Marshall. Fire crews also rescued the pet cat from inside, then supplied it with oxygen, he said. "The cat's in good shape," Marshall said.

Dutch Bros. locations in Josephine County raised $12,558 recently to benefit an 8-year-old county resident who suffers from a rare disease and requires ongoing treatment.

The funds, collected at the coffee stands on June 16, will pay for enzyme treatments for J.T. Davis, who suffers from Gaucher's disease, a metabolic disorder that causes fatty substances to build up painfully in organs and bone marrow.

Jackson County Animal Care and Control will offer low-cost cat adoptions during regular hours through Wednesday, July 17, at the shelter, 5595 S. Pacific Highway, Phoenix.

The event is hosted by the shelter, the Committed Alliance to Strays and Sanctuary One.

All cats 9 months and older can be adopted for $9 to help deal with crowding at the shelter, organizers said.

The shelter's hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.